Duty To Continue Accommodations

An employer's duty to provide reasonable accommodation to employees with disabilities does not end with the provision of an accommodation; the duty is a continuing one. Although in many instances, employees with disabilities may need only a one-time accommodation in order to perform the essential functions of the job, other employees may need more than one accommodation and the needs may change over time. As pointed out by the EEOC in its Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation, some employees ''may need one reasonable accommodation for a period of time and then at a later date, require another type of reasonable accommodation.'' Thus, an employer must consider each request by an employee with a disability for a reasonable accommodation and determine the following: (1) whether the accommodation is needed, (2) if needed, whether the accommodation would be effective, and (3) if effective, whether providing the reasonable accommodation would impose an undue hardship. Of course, if an individual requests multiple reasonable accommodations, but one accommodation is sufficient in order to enable that person to perform the essential functions of the job, the employer need only provide one accommodation.